Investigators are working 18-hour days as they scramble to find a toddler who was last seen Wednesday morning at his home in Savannah, Georgia, Chatham County police said.
The FBI is also assisting with the investigation, according to police.
The child’s mother, 22-year-old Lelani Simon, told police she last saw him in his playpen around 6 a.m. Wednesday, CNN affiliate WJCL reported. He was reported missing after 9 a.m. that day.
The initial report was that the child had wandered off, according to CNN affiliate WTOC.
According to court documents obtained by WJCL, Lelani Simon’s mother, Billie Jo Howell, and her husband have custody of Quinton and his three-year-old brother. Howell also filed to have Lelani and her boyfriend evicted in early September, WJCL reported.
Police have not said if foul play is suspected in the toddler’s disappearance.
“We’re looking at it from multiple fronts, one of it being a criminal investigation as well as a missing child at this point,” Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said at a Monday news conference. “We don’t have anything confirmed so can’t say anything absolutely, but it is fair to say that our efforts in the cooperation with the FBI and them providing an abundance of resources to us that we are looking at the criminal aspect of it.”
No suspects or persons of interest have been named as of Monday afternoon, but “everyone is being looked at,” Hadley said.
Investigators have conducted multiple interviews, issued multiple search warrants and have canvassed multiple areas, according to Hadley. They searched Simon’s home again Monday to make sure nothing was missed during earlier searches, the chief said.
Police had already searched the house, the backyard pool and a nearby pond, but they found no sign of Quinton, according to WJCL.
Hadley would not comment on family cooperation in the investigation, where the toddler’s family was Monday, or on the family’s lack of public appearances since Simon was reported missing.
Police are working to verify the accuracy of tips submitted over the weekend via a tipline, Hadley said.
“Finding Quinton Simon is our highest priority, and the intensity of our work is as strong as it has been since the day of his disappearance,” police said Saturday in a Facebook post.
